Hands cracked and knuckles chapped, the weather is cold again, at last. I coat my hands in cool lotion to ease the pain and cover them in crocheted gloves when I go out in the early morning to drive my young son to school, but it’s never enough. Or maybe I don’t do so often enough.

Last week my husband, son, and I went on our first real family vacation. We stayed in a cabin in a popular destination city a few hours from home and went to a few fun attractions and ate lots of yummy food. I can’t say how much of a blessing this trip was after our first attempt last year – going to the beach – was cut extremely short by a sudden, strong hurricane. We did it, even with a few hiccups like car trouble one day and a few fixer-upper elements to the cabin.

It snowed the first night we were there and we woke up to autumn-leaved trees covered in a dusting of white. Driving the winding roads that cut between the mountain ridges and forests of trees felt a bit like being in Narnia.

Things to remember – all of us binging on the giant bag of peanut butter M&Ms my husband bought in the car as we drove from place to place, our son saying, “The cabin is my home now!”, hanging out with my husband and watching tv together until we fell asleep (we don’t have cable or a tv in our room so this is something we never do at home), walking up and down the streets of the city and looking at al the shops, three different days, and finding something new each time, all bundled in our winter coats, hats, and gloves, noses red, my husband throwing snowballs every time we got out of our car at a destination, and our son having so much fun joining in and “surprising dad” by hitting him with a snowball.

This trip was so special and appreciated.

I’m not a huge fan of the cold but by the long, drawn out end of summer here, I’m ready to switch things up and wear all my jeans, sweaters, and layers. I’m also not much of a hot tea drinker during warm weather times, but I find a cup helps me combat the anxiety that tries to creep in when the time changes and evenings grow dark. My go-tos are often a homemade London Fog, spearmint, or often lemon ginger when I’m sick with a sore throat.

I’ve mentioned before how seasonal affective disorder has seemed to be worse for me the past few years so I’m trying to be really proactive about it this year and do things that I know will help me find little pockets of joy and peace. Things like getting outside for a bit when it’s warm enough, watching lighthearted films, and keeping something to crochet in my hands, even if it’s simple.